Why It’s Important to Focus on Customer Retention Even When You’re Busy
It can be easy to believe that you don’t need to worry about increasing client retention while the business is thriving at your dealership. This is undoubtedly the reason why so many managers are shocked to learn that retention is more crucial when they are busy. It offers a means of protecting against income loss when things slow down once more in addition to maximizing profits.
When your dealership is so busy, it might seem logical to put less emphasis on customer retention. After all, you already have more customers than you can handle. So why bother making sure they all come back? Why make things more difficult when you’re already stressed?
Continue reading to learn why it’s important to put client retention first when business is booming (and the dangers of doing otherwise).
When your dealership is busy, there are six reasons you shouldn’t ignore retention.
1. Start a retention program during a time of high company activity to get the most value for your money.
Even though it may seem strange to do so in these circumstances, the plan makes perfect sense when you look at your company from a long-term perspective. The first benefit is that any retention campaign you do during a boom will reach significantly more individuals than usual.
With more people benefiting from a single effort, you effectively multiply the impact of your retention program.
Consider this: Your efforts will have a much greater impact on more people than if you wait until a slow period to start boosting retention. If you go above and beyond to provide a great customer experience on a busy day (or offer extra value, like automatically qualifying each customer for additional benefits if they come back to you for service), your efforts will have a much greater impact.
Additionally, since you may enjoy these advantages without spending additional time on marketing, you have more time to devote to other objectives, such as offering exceptional customer service.
2. Retention is more cost-effective (and lucrative) than acquisition
The cost of acquiring a new customer is five times greater than the cost of retaining an existing one. Conversion rates are also higher: your chances of selling to an existing customer are typically between 60% and 70%, compared to merely 5% to 20% for a new customer.
If that doesn’t make the point, keep in mind that, generally speaking, repeat client spends far more in their third year of being a customer than they do in their first six months – typically approximately $167 for every $100 spent in their first six months in year three.
3. Consistent clients are more inclined to recommend a business to their relatives and family
By retaining customers with a service like SimpSocial that improves their lives, you can stand out from the competition. Happy clients will recommend you to their friends and family, which will result in free additional business.
4. High retention rates facilitate the work of your sales team.
Your sales team will need to exert less effort when acquiring new clients through recommendations because a foundation of trust has already been built. Additionally, your sales team can cut back on outreach time.
5. It is easier to keep customers coming back if they are more loyal.
Customers are a lot more inclined to overlook little flaws and far less likely to switch where they go for service based on convenience, price, or a recommendation when you’ve developed a relationship with them to the point where they are fiercely devoted. Many of them will remain in place despite everything.
6. Retention guards against financial loss for your dealership in the event of a market downturn.
Typically, 70% of consumers who buy or lease a car from a dealership don’t come back for maintenance, which results in a significant loss of prospective sales.
Running a retention program while your dealership is active will help ensure that it stays busy even if conditions in the market change. The more effectively you can increase consumer loyalty during a boom in the market, the better off you’ll be when things settle down.
According to industry studies, car owners who had visited a dealership during the previous 12 months for servicing were more than twice as likely to buy their next car there (35% vs. 74%).
Let’s say that, on average, 50% of your clients desire to use you again. How does it impact your business later if you receive 100 customers on a busy day, and 50 of them tell you they’ll be back the next time they need assistance?
When business slows down and just 10 clients arrive every day, you already have 50 people returning to you for service and sales, so you don’t only have to hope to keep 5 of those consumers.
Retention becomes one of the best things you can do for your company because you may reduce drops in consumer traffic with this method.
How to increase customer loyalty at your dealership despite a busy workforce
There are various strategies to increase customer retention, however, the following are key areas you should prioritize if you want your clients to stay with you:
Offer an excellent client experience. Customers like quick service and a simple process. Online scheduling, car pick-up and delivery, mobile service, and educating advisors to be friendly and informed all contribute significantly.
The number one reason clients return to your dealership for service, ahead of cost and the caliber of the repair, is exceptional customer service.
Increase your communication transparency by showing clients prices up front, such as by using online estimates. Clients will quickly lose faith in a dealership if there is a lack of transparency for goods and services. If you can’t provide any services as promised, talk to the client right away and offer to make it up to them.
Offer one-of-a-kind value additions: In addition to online appointment scheduling, luxuries and rewards like free road hazard tire repair and free renewable roadside assistance rank highly with customers when it comes to what they want from a dealership service department. You can automatically give consumers advantageous benefits like these with the use of a program like SimpSocial and keep them coming back to you.
How SimpSocial Improves new-car Dealers’ retention rates
When you partner with SimpSocial, we give you the tools you need to offer your clients sustainable incentives (instead of just discounts, which are ineffective), like tire protection from road hazards and roadside support. These kinds of advantages encourage clients to return to you for timely maintenance, unforeseen repairs, and tires.
Conclusion
The basic line is that your dealership should always prioritize customer retention, but this is even more true during times of high activity. You can safeguard your company from future downturns and make sure that you have a solid and constant customer base for years to come by enhancing your retention efforts during these times.
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